Fears that Chase You
by BenXGwen Lightning Warrior
Summary: A certain fear chases Ben across Realities and never ceases to find him. What is this fear? Read and find out. (One Shot) [I do not own or profit from Ben 10.]


Fears that Chase You

Ben groaned as he rubbed his head. _Where am I?_ The boy thought for a moment. He looked down at himself and saw he was wearing a green jacket with a "10" on the left side, blue jeans, sneakers, and a black t-shirt under the jacket. Ben made a face at the clothes before he noticed he was moving and heard an engine. When Ben fully became aware of his surroundings, he took note that he was in the backseat of a green Camaro. Then, Ben noticed the car was way more advanced than it appeared. _This thing is just like the Rustbucket._ Ben thought with a grin that faded quickly when Ben noticed the occupants in the front seats. The fiery red hair of Gwen greeted Ben's eyes. He smiled softly at the scene but shivered when he saw Gwen's hand in another's. Ben's mind reeled at the sight as his eyes followed the foreign hand back to its owner. Ben cried out in shock and terror as he saw the mop of black, greasy hair that could only belong to one person. Gwen was dating Kevin!

Ben tried to reach from the backseat and separate the two only to find an invisible field pushed back against Ben's efforts. Ben glared at the sight in front of him. He hit the wall with all his might, but it only rippled as the wall absorbed Ben's blows with ease. "No! No! NO!" Ben's rage and fear for Gwen pushed the boy on. As Ben glared at the wall that refused to yield, he went Four Arms and again tried to punch his way through the field. Again, it held fast. When muscle failed, Ben turned to his voice. Ben screamed, "Gwen, don't do this! Remember what he's done, who he is!" Ben was stunned when Gwen continued to chat with Kevin as if Ben didn't exist. "Terminator: Judgement Day…" Ben mumbled sadly. He blinked as realization struck the boy. "This is a dream," the boy whispered.

"It's nothing but a nightmare." Ben closed his eyes and expected to wake up when he opened them. The only problem was when Ben opened his eyes again, he was still in Kevin's car with Kevin getting closer and closer to Gwen…his Dweeb. Ben growled as he pushed against the barrier with all his might. "I don't care that we are cousins, Gwen. I love you!" Ben felt the wall tear slightly at his declaration. Ben smiled briefly at the victory. Victory, however, was to be short-lived. Ben could only watch as Gwen and Kevin kissed. The sight made Ben want to scream and cry, but all he could do was stare as Gwen's healthy complexion became old, wrinkly, and lifeless grey as Kevin continued to kiss Gwen. Gwen's eyes widened as she realized too late what was happening. Gwen's muffled cries for Kevin to stop grew weaker and weaker as Kevin continued to drain Gwen of her life and vibrancy. Ben glared at Kevin as tears grew in his eyes.

As Ben lunged from the backseat to beat Kevin to a pulp, everything vanished. Ben was suddenly swallowed by a blackness. As Ben looked around, he spotted the lifeless grey body of Gwen just out of reach. "G-Gwen?" Ben asked, his voice so full of pain and tears, the name was almost lost in it. Ben got to his feet in the strange blackness and ran to Gwen's side. As he knelt, Ben vaguely noticed he was back to wearing his normal attire, but his main focus was on Gwen. The boy closed his eyes and felt an energy surge through him. "Gwen, I won't let you go quietly into the night." He said gently as he continued to cradle her in his arms. Ben felt an energy tug at him through his body. Ben pushed the energy into Gwen's body and smiled as his Dweeb began to revive. "I love you, Dweeb." Gwen opened her eyes at Ben's confession and tried to speak, but her voice was far away. _"I'm waking up!"_ Ben's dream self said, _"No!"_

Ben shot awake in a cold sweat to see a pair of green eyes looking at him with worry. Ben cried out with happiness and kissed Gwen as he draped his arms around the redhead before he knew what he was doing. Then, the pain of the nightmare hit Ben anew. He cried into her shoulder the bitter tears of lost love. "It was horrible!" Ben said finally when he gathered enough of himself to be able to look into Gwen's eyes. Gwen was understandably confused. "First, you begin Summer with knowledge of the future. Now, you wake up and kiss me without a second thought?" Gwen raised an eyebrow at Ben. She moved away, and Ben could see Grandpa Max watching the two with a slight grin. What really caught Ben's attention, however, was the Omnitrix on Max's left wrist. _Right, I'm living in a different timeline now, so Gwen and I haven't gotten close yet._ Ben reminded himself as he scratched the back of his head and looked at Gwen and Max awkwardly.

"I can explain." Ben started simply. "Where I come from, I almost lost Gwen about the time I woke up in this reality." Ben slowly recounted the adventure to stop the Omnitrix SDM countdown. Ben shivered when he got to Xenon. Gwen put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "You sacrifice yourself, and I…die inside." Ben said as his lips quivered. "It was then I realized I loved you, Dweeb. I woke up yesterday morning wishing Xenon was a bad dream. I never realized that a wish would be so powerful." He said sheepishly. "Wizards are odd like that, Ben." Max said without missing a beat. Gwen stared at her Grandpa in shock while Ben just nodded like this was just par for the course for him. "That explains the dream I had last night." Ben then recounted the dream. "We meet Kevin in a few weeks. Don't fall for him, Gwen." Ben said quietly. Gwen just hugged her cousin a little tighter, neither aware that Gwen's arms wrapped around Ben of their own accord while Ben wove his tale.

 **Please Read and Review.** This fic was inspired by a thought from Car54 and the song "Leave Out All the Rest" by Linkin Park.


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